CHAPTER LXXXYIII. 



The Tawny Owl. 



Strix stridula, Lin. ; Le Chatbuant, Buf. 



Description and Charaotee. — The Tawny Owl is not so 

 attractive as the White Owl, as it is not only sullen and in- 

 tractable, but at times disposed to be vindictive. For these 

 reasons few people care to be troubled with it. The average 

 length of a full-grown specimen is 14in., the tail being 5in., 

 and the breadth 2ft. Sin. The bill is horn white. The irides 

 are inky or dullish blue ; the eyes are large and globular, sur- 

 rounded by a concave disc, formed by a ruffle of diverging 

 feathers, which encircle the face, and give the bird a some- 

 what cat-like appearance. The head, neck, back, wing coverts, 

 and scapulars, are yellowish red or pale reddish brown, marked 

 and spotted with black, brown, and grey. The wing coverts 

 and scapulars are ornamented with large spots of white, 

 forming three distinct rows ; the primary and tail feathers 

 are adorned with alternate bars of reddish and dark brown ; 

 the tail coverts are plain, and tawny in colour, the two in 

 the centre being the brightest, and showing most red. The breast 

 and abdomen are reddish white, marked with tranverse bars 

 of brown and longitudinal narrow streaks of dingy blackish 

 brown. The legs are feathered to the claws. 



Habits and BREEDiNa. — The Tawny Owl is indigenous to 

 Great Britain, and is found throughout Europe and in Ame- 

 rica. It is neither so plentiful nor yet so generally diffused 

 as its congener, the White Owl, but is by no means un- 

 common in England. It inhabits woods and forests chiefly, 



